Prominent Moroccan Surgeon’s Human Trafficking Trial Advances, Hearing Date Set

Hassan Tazi sees the noose tightening around him. After hearing several donors, including influential personalities in the fields of politics, commerce, economics and culture, on April 27, the investigating judge has set the date for the hearing of three plaintiff donors on May 5, reports the Arabic-language newspaper Al Ahdath Al Maghribia. In addition to these donors, the victims, key witnesses in this case, will also be heard.

Imprisoned in the Oukacha prison for, among other things, human trafficking and abuse of weakness, Dr. Hassan Tazi continues to proclaim his innocence. In a recent statement to the investigators, he claimed that he did not know that needy patients had been photographed, and that their images had been used for financial purposes, because his work was only carried out in the diagnostic room and in the operating room of plastic surgery, the same newspaper reported. "All administrative and financial matters" are managed by his wife and brother, who are also being prosecuted under arrest, he said. However, his release on bail was rejected by the Prosecutor’s Office on the grounds that the alleged facts against him are serious.